DLB Capital's China Rapid Finance Investment Pre-Approves 50 Million Chinese Consumers for First-Time Loans and Becomes a Leader in Online Loan Origination

SHANGHAI, March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- China Rapid Finance ("CRF"), a leader in Chinese marketplace lending and credit decisioning, today announced that it has extended pre-approved loan offers of 500 RMB (~US$80) to 50 million consumers including pre-screened users on QQ, Tencent's leading social networking platform, with 820 million users, and customers of China Union Pay, China's leading payment network.  To notify the users of their new borrowing opportunity, this week CRF launched a nationwide mobile-based marketing campaign that will be followed by a billboard campaign.

Designed to reach Chinese consumers as they travel for the New Year, close to 600 billboard ads will be placed at railway stations in 14 major cities across the country.  China's Ministry of Transportation projects that more than 2.8 billion single trips will be taken during the Chinese New Year's peak travel period in February and March.  Approximately 300 million individuals are projected to travel by train.

The pre-approved, first-time borrowers also are being notified by text messages and by promotional messages when they access QQ either through their mobile app or PC browser. CRF's initiative this week will mark a first in China, where most people do not have a credit score and are difficult to pre-qualify as a result.

"We are delighted to work with leading Chinese companies such as Tencent and China Union Pay to offer 50 million QQ users what, for most, will represent their first-ever opportunity to borrow money," said China Rapid Finance founder and CEO Zane Wang, PhD. "Those who accept the loans will benefit not only from affordable financing but also from the opportunity to establish a credit profile that will serve them in the future."

More than 78 percent of Chinese people have no access to credit, according to People's Bank of China.  In addition, consumer credit penetration, outside of mortgages, stands at a mere 2% of Chinese GDP according to Euromonitor.  This compares to approximately 18% in the United States.

"The single biggest gating factor to Chinese consumer credit is the lack of accurate information upon which to base lending decisions," said Joe Zhang, author of Inside China's Shadow Banking:  The Next Subprime Crisis? "The pairing of CRF's analytics-driven lending capabilities with data from Tenpay's QQ users and other leading companies is groundbreaking in the industry and provides the basis for sound credit offers."

The 50 million loan offers extended by CRF are the result of a sophisticated proprietary analysis of available online and offline, social and financial information designed to predict default rates, limit fraud and estimate borrower responses to the offer. They follow a successful 3-month test begun in November 2014 during which CRF made 50,000 loans to Tenpay users.

"The initial results of our new loan offers to 50 million pre-approved borrowers have been extremely positive," reported Wang.

CRF's new loan program was developed with the advice of Nigel Morris, managing director of QED Investors, co-founder of Capital One and a CRF investor and advisor. It marks the first time that any company anywhere in the world has offered pre-approved loans that require no application and no waiting time between loan request and cash availability.

"Nowhere in the world have I seen a mobile based pre-approved credit solution of this scale or technological innovation," said Morris. "The data-led pre-screen strategy that CRF and Tencent have applied reminds me of the winning approach we implemented at Capital One, albeit successfully adapted to China's scarce credit environment.  Together, CRF and Tencent are pioneers in China's ongoing transformation towards a credit-based society."

Established in 2001, China Rapid Finance created the country's first Chinese language-enabled credit decision engine, driven by its proprietary Big Data analytics tools, which CRF uses to qualify borrowers on its multi-channel P2P lending platform.  CRF also licenses its credit scoring technology to leading Chinese commercial banks.  Today, the company operates one of China's leading online and offline platforms for connecting lenders and borrowers. 

"The mobile product we are launching this week leverages elaborate scoring systems we developed over the past decade and in 70 cities across China," Mr. Wang continued.  "Our goal with our partners is to provide hundreds of millions of ordinary Chinese consumers their 'first step' up the credit ladder, so one day they can borrow for a car or a home."

"Soon after evaluation of the borrower response and repayment results, CRF intends to develop another significant pre-approved loan offering," said Rex Lv, head of Credit Policy at China Rapid Finance and former Director of Analytics for Experian, Asia Pacific.

The current wave of the national advertising campaign will continue through March.

About China Rapid Finance
China Rapid Finance ("CRF") is a leader in marketplace lending and credit decisioning in China. With more than 4,000 employees and 70 branch offices, the company has one of the largest multi-channel offline and online lending platforms in China built upon proprietary advanced Big Data analytics technology, a proven track record in credit risk management, and a tradition of transparency and regulatory compliance.

Through CRF's direct distribution channels as well as strategic partnerships with China's technology leaders, CRF brings borrowing opportunities to a broad array of Chinese consumers – many of whom are accessing credit for the first time. 

Founded in 2001 by CEO Zane Wang, PhD, CRF has played a critical role in transforming the Chinese credit market for more than a dozen years. In 2014 alone, CRF originated more than 300,000 loans and established a strategic partnership with Tenpay to provide credit access to millions of individual borrowers. China Rapid Finance stands poised to deepen and broaden its leadership in the Chinese marketplace lending industry.

CRF's home page is www.crfchina.com.

About DLB Capital
DLB Capital is the lead investor in China Rapid Finance. DLB Capital is a global investment and advisory firm focused on underserved industries in the United States, China, India and the Middle East. DLB Capital invests primarily in start-ups and Companies in early stages. They are opportunistic investors who pursue companies poised for growth that are in need of proven hands on experience, capital raising expertise, strategic advice and growth planning. Through our extensive partnerships and contacts, we provide help companies across all sectors reach their full growth potential. DLB Capital was founded in 2006 by Douglas L. Brown, former Vice Chairman Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley, and is based in Wilton, CT.

www.dlbcapital.com

Contact information:

Douglas L Brown
Chairman and Founder
DLB Capital
203.423.2100
[email protected]

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